Can a Car Rental Company Keep Your Passport in the UAE?
No. UAE officials have said a rental company may not keep your passport or Emirates ID as a guarantee. What it can check, what it can hold instead, and where to complain.
You land, you find the rental desk or the delivery driver, and someone asks for your passport. Showing it is expected: Gulf News lists a passport among the documents a visitor needs. Leaving it behind is a different matter, and it is the question this page answers.
The short answer is no: UAE officials have said more than once that a car rental company may not keep your passport or your Emirates ID as a guarantee. Below is who said it and when, what a company does need to see, what it can lawfully hold instead, and what to do if you are asked to hand your passport over.
The short version
A rental company may not keep your passport or Emirates ID as a guarantee, according to the Federal Traffic Council and Sharjah's consumer protection officials, as reported by Gulf News.
The sources point to a 2002 Ministry of Interior decision that treats holding someone else's passport as illegal unless a government body does it.
A company does need to see your documents and check your licence, but seeing them is not the same as keeping them.
What it can lawfully hold is a deposit: a card hold, cash or a debit-card payment, released within 30 days in Dubai.
If you are asked to leave your passport, decline, offer the deposit instead, and complain to the consumer protection authority if the company insists.
What the authorities have said
In March 2019 Gulf News reported Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of the Federal Traffic Council, saying that car rental companies are not authorised to take a customer's passport or Emirates ID as a guarantee to rent cars, and that a company caught doing it could have its licence permanently cancelled. He said the relevant laws allow a company to charge the rent to the customer's card and to ask for the information on the driving licence only, and he urged customers not to hand either document over.
Sharjah said the same thing a few months earlier. In September 2018 Gulf News reported Ali Fadhel, Director of the Customer Protection section at the Sharjah Economic Development Department, saying the department would not tolerate rental offices that hold their customers' passports, and that offices which did would be fined or referred to the Public Prosecution.
The legal basis both point to is a 2002 Ministry of Interior decision. The National, answering a reader in 2021, quoted it as saying it will be considered an illegal action to detain the passport in the UAE except by the government parties. These reports are several years old, and we have found no current source restating the rule for car rentals specifically. We have also found nothing that reverses it.
What a rental company does need to see
A company has to check who is driving. The Khaleej Times legal column, written by lawyer Ashish Mehta, cites Article 29 of Federal Decree-Law No. (14) of 2024, under which rental activity needs a licence from the competent authorities and the company must make sure the driving licence is valid.
For visitors, Gulf News lists a valid passport, a valid tourist visa and a valid home-country licence or International Driving Permit, depending on where the licence was issued. Our driving licence checker shows which case you are in, and our guide for tourists covers the rest.
So expect to show your passport. That is checking. The officials quoted above draw the line at the company holding on to it once the check is done.
What a company can hold instead
The lawful security is a deposit. In Dubai, Circular No. (1) of 2024 from the Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade, reported by Khaleej Times, says a credit card security hold may not be processed as a purchase transaction, and that deposits must be released within 30 days of the car being returned.
For customers without a credit card, Khaleej Times reports that the circular says the rental office must take the deposit in cash or from the customer's debit card, and refund it in cash or by transfer with the company bearing the transfer fee. Our guide to renting without a credit card covers that route, and our deposit guide covers what can and cannot come out of a deposit.
None of this requires your passport. Gulf News made the same point in its 2018 Sharjah report: a rental office can protect itself by taking a security deposit instead.
If you are asked to leave your passport
Decline politely and offer the deposit instead, by card hold, cash or debit card.
If a company already has your passport and will not return it, put the request in writing on WhatsApp or email so there is a record. In Dubai, the consumer protection channel is the Department of Economy and Tourism, which the Khaleej Times legal column names for rental deposit complaints, at consumerrights.gov.ae or on 600 545555. In Sharjah, Gulf News reported that the Economic Development Department's consumer protection section takes these complaints.
The officials' reasons are practical. Al Zafein said passports and Emirates IDs are important documents and anyone can misuse them. A lawyer quoted by Khaleej Times in 2009 asked what would happen to a customer's passport if the rental company were closed, and the same article says keeping another person's passport is against the law because it is personal property.
Renting a car in Dubai?
Our monthly rentals start at AED 1,649 a month, including VAT, comprehensive insurance, registration, routine maintenance, 24/7 roadside assistance and 3,500 km a month on most cars. The deposit is AED 1,500 refundable on most cars, or no deposit at all for about AED 255 a month more. Fuel is same-to-same: we record the level at handover and you bring it back at that level, and the difference is charged if it is lower. Salik is recharged at cost plus AED 1 per crossing, itemised. Traffic fines are billed to you, itemised. Delivery and collection are around Downtown Dubai and nearby, and the rest of Dubai on request.
We are Urban Go Car Rentals, an RTA-authorised dealer and agency in Port Saeed, Dubai. Documents are verified on WhatsApp before delivery, and every rental is made on a signed Urban Go rental contract. Have a look at the fleet or our monthly rentals, or message us on WhatsApp on +971 50 500 3965 and a person will answer.
Sources
Car rentals in UAE can't keep your passport or ID as guarantee - Gulf News
Don't hold passports, UAE car rental agencies warned - Gulf News
Can my landlord take my passport as a guarantee? - The National
Renting a car in Dubai? New circular spells out payment rules - Khaleej Times
Dubai car rental rules: security deposits and refunds - Khaleej Times
Last reviewed 23 October 2026.
FAQ
Can a car rental company keep my passport in the UAE?
Can a rental company keep my Emirates ID instead?
Why does the company need to see my passport at all?
What can a rental company take as security?
What law makes holding a passport illegal?
Who do I complain to if a company keeps my passport?
Related articles
Car Window Tint Rules in the UAE: What Is Legal in 2026
UAE law allows window tint up to 50 per cent. The AED 1,500 fine, Dubai's AED 10,000 impound release, the windscreen rule and the sunshade warning, from the published sources.
Can You Rent a Car in Dubai Without a Credit Card?
Dubai's Circular No. (1) of 2024 says a rental office must take the deposit in cash or on a debit card where the customer has no credit card. What the rules require, and what we accept at Urban Go.
Black Points in Dubai: How They Work, What Happens at 24, and What Renters Need to Know
How black points work across the seven emirates, why Dubai is different, the exact steps to clear points earned in another emirate on a Dubai licence, and what it all means on a rental car.
